The appointments broaden the experience and industry expertise among NACAC’s board members.

Arlington, VA (June 1, 2023) – Two newly appointed board members will join the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) Board of Directors. Both appointees bring broad experience and knowledge in higher education leadership.

Nolvia L. Delgado, executive director of the Kaplan Education Foundation, will join the board in September of 2023. Shirley M. Collado, PhD, president and CEO of College Track and president emerita of Ithaca College, will join the board in September of 2024.

Nolvia L. Delgado

Delgado has served as the Executive Director of Kaplan Education Foundation (KEF) since March of 2022. The organization supports underserved students who attend community colleges as they transfer and complete degrees at selective four-year institutions.

Delgado is the first program alumnus to serve as its executive director. She was selected for the program while completing her associate degree at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. She went on to complete her bachelor’s degree at Smith College. Before returning to KEF, Delgado directed partnerships for the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation’s Community Schools Initiative and worked for Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, overseeing its U.S. educational pipeline programs. She also worked in London managing fundraising and charitable partnerships for Kaplan International.

Delgado was honored in 2022 by Crain’s New York Business on its 40 Under 40 list. She was also named to the City and State New York Above and Beyond Innovators list for disrupting the status quo and driving transformative change.

“As a proud Latina and the first in my family to graduate college, I understand firsthand the transformational power of education and how it gives young people the confidence and tools to achieve their big dreams,” Delgado said. “I am honored to join NACAC’s board and help them to champion educational access and equity.”

Shirley M. Collado

Collado began her role as the president and CEO of College Track, a comprehensive college completion program, in January of 2022. Prior to this position, she served as the ninth president of Ithaca College. At the conclusion of her tenure, she was named president emerita of the institution. She is the first Dominican-American to serve as president of a four-year institution of higher education in the United States.

Throughout her career she leveraged her leadership to advocate for equity in all forms, working to deconstruct the structures that prevent educational participation, whether on campuses or in communities at large. She is known for designing and implementing approaches in higher education that expand student access and success. Collado is the Brooklyn-born daughter of Dominican immigrants, and the first person in her family to attend and complete college.

She has served as executive vice chancellor and chief operating officer at Rutgers University-Newark; dean of the college and vice president for student affairs at Middlebury; and as executive vice president of The Posse Foundation, where she scaled operations nationally. She is a founding member of Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, and a member of the boards of ACT, Excelencia in Education, and Vanderbilt University. She was recently appointed honorary co-chair of the Mariposa Foundation, a nonprofit focused on the education and empowerment of girls in the Dominican Republic.

“I am thrilled to join this amazing group of leaders collectively working to achieve equity within our nation’s higher education sector,” Collado said. “Students from all walks of life contribute great talent, perspective, and knowledge to colleges and universities, and to the professional spaces they inhabit once they graduate. It is our job, as leaders within the educational ecosystem, to be bold enough to disrupt the status quo of higher education and drive diligently toward inclusion. Every young person in this country is entitled to the opportunity to realize their potential and pursue a life of purpose.”

The NACAC Board of Directors has a long history of inviting industry experts to serve as appointed board members, including current Board Directors Beth Maglione and Don Yu, who will complete their terms of service this September.

“NACAC continues to evolve in its complexity and impact,” said NACAC Board Chair Vern Granger. “The insights and expertise that Dr. Collado and Ms. Delgado will provide will continue to move the association into a bold future. We look forward to collaborating with and learning from these extraordinary leaders.”

Nolvia L. Delgado

Shirley M. Collado, PhD